Amnesty slams plans to tag ants

Amnesty International has come out strongly against plans by the University of York to tag 1,000 Northern Hairy Ants at the National Trust's Longshaw Estate in Derbyshire.

A spokesman for the action group said today: "This is just the latest example of how the freedom and rights of the individual are being daily eroded. This is a gross intrusion into the lives of the individuals concerned, and potentially even more damaging is the data gathered by monitoring their movements, and how this can be used by the authorities.

"This is just the thin edge of a slippery slope. If we don't intervene now, who knows where this could lead. We could end up with CCTV cameras on every street the length and breadth of the country."